The Year in Film 2009: Top 10 (10-6)

Before I begin, I’d like to observe that 2009 was an atypical year, as far as films were concerned. Hollywood, by and large, seemed content to coast along, eschewing doing anything too ostentatious or too interesting, resulting in a rather paltry crop of big studio releases of merit in both the summer and awards seasons. This is not to say that there were no Hollywood films of any merit, but more that many of the higher quality releases this year came from alternative and indie markets, or in the form of underseen/underappreciated films from more ambitious or inventive filmmakers. Also, in addition to So with that said, here’s the bottom half of my top 10 for 2009:

 

 

10. Ponyo
Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli has spent the last decade being one of the few stalwart defenders of traditional animation against the torrent of CG animation. It’s easy to see his point, when one marvels at the stunning detail and artistry in previous films such as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke. Ponyo, in many ways represents a shift away from the studio’s previous film Howl’s Moving Castle. The grand, lush scenery and complex (perhaps convoluted) storyline of that film gives way to simplification, both in terms of storytelling and artwork. Where Howl allowed Miyazaki to work on an epic canvas, Ponyo instead opts for the measured economy of a fairy tale (which should come as little surprise, being adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. This is not to suggest that Miyazaki has similarly diminished in his filmmaking prowess. His ability to craft resonant, beautiful images remains, as is his ability to tell involving, exciting narratives, both remain as pure as ever.

 

 

 

 

 

9. Adventureland
Director: Greg Mottola

One of my petty gripes with Hollywood is that it spends so much time pandering to the average joe and not nearly enough time pandering to weirdos like me. Luckily, Greg Mottola happily obliged this year with Adventureland, a thoughtful and hilarious valentine to everyone who’s realized just how useful a liberal arts degree is in the real world. Comedy in the 2000s, after all, has been mostly deluged with the affable-man-child films springing from Judd Apatow and his colleagues, including Superbad which Mottola directed. Adventureland, however, dares to distance itself from such fare by offering a nebbish, sensitive college grad as its protagonist (played to a T by Jesse Eisenberg), and surrounding him with a detailed, observed supporting cast. It also allows a more nuanced view of its characters than the average comedy. Take Ryan Reynolds, who plays a maintenence guy who is secretly dating Jesse’s love interest played by Kristen Stewart despite being married. In the hands of a hack, his character would be a one-dimensional douchebag, acting purely out of self-interest. Mottola however, avoids such lazy characterization, and instead presents Reynolds as a conflicted person who wants to do the right thing, but doesn’t always succeed. It’s that kind of care that elevates Adventureland above many of its peers.

 

 

 

 

 

8. A Serious Man
Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

After the strange and at times incomprehensible diversion that was Burn After Reading, A Serious Man finds the Coen Brothers getting back on track (more or less). While the Coens propensity to detour into strangeness remains, here it remains within the confines of a more sympathetic and interesting storyline. The film benefits immeasurably though, from its cast, particularly Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik, a Jewish suburban physics professor seemingly under attack from all sides. It’s also refreshing to see the Coen Brothers using their new esteem from their Oscar-Winning No Country For Old Men and not growing complacent, but using it as a mandate to push their craft into new and exciting horizons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. District 9
Director: Neill Blomkamp

One of the things noticeably absent from 2009 was the lack of a proper  sci-fi/action summer blockbuster of quality. Many attempts were made (Star Trek, Wolverine, Terminator: Salvation), but for my money, nothing topped District 9 in terms of excitement, immersion or originality (Particularly since those films alone I mentioned go reboot, spin-off, reboot/continuation). Instead of, say, giving us for a hero a tough, stubbly manly man, we are instead given a wheyface bureaucrat to root for as he must save both himself and the stranded aliens from the unsavory plans of his corporate superiors. District 9 is a film that both a film that gets a lot of bang for its measly budget ($30 million, as opposed to, say, Transfomers 2‘s $200 Million) while never neg

lecting the human/alien story at its core.

 

 

 

 

6. In The Loop
Director: Armando Iannucci

In The Loop is the kind of sharp political comedy that only seems to show up once in a blue moon. Centered around a British minister who can’t stop sticking his foot in his mouth in the lead-up to a US-UK War in the Middle East. The result is a fast-moving, gleefully profane satire of the British and American governments, both lined with slick, thoughtless hawks eager to start bombing against Doves either too ineffectual or weak to stop them. It’s a marvelously savage view of the culture of self-interest and corruption on both sides of the Atlantic, and might actually be the scariest movie of the year, if it weren’t so hilarious.

 

 

And that’s my bottom five for 2009! Stay tuned for the Top five.